I'd Lie
by xxoocutpiooxx
Summary: When Anastasia Vanderhoff first made her way to Hogwarts, she never expected to be sorted into Slytherin! Her whole family has been in Ravenclaw for generations. And she never thought she would start to fall for James S. Potter... But she won't admit it!
1. Chapter 1 Prologue

I'd Lie

Summary: When Anastasia Isadora Vanderhoff first headed off to Hogwarts, she never expected to be sorted into Slytherin house when the rest of her family were all Ravenclaws and she certainly was not expecting to catch the attention of the arrogant, know-it-all and stubborn James Sirius Potter, the son of the wizard who defeated You-Know-Who for good. Or fall for him for that matter. But it's not as if she was about to let anyone know about her crush on that insufferable git or anything. . .

Prologue

Her throat was dry, her hands were clammy and Stasi was more than positive that she was sweating like a pig. She licked her dry lips anxiously and clutched her owl's cage even tighter. She still couldn't believe that she agreed to crossing the portal into platform 9 and ¾ by herself while her parents went to coax her younger brother out of the car. Zacharias was deathly claustrophobic and being in a cramped station full of judgmental, and rowdy muggles did not help with his disposition at all.

Stasi was not _supposed_ to be by herself, the last time she checked. Her older brother Mikhail was supposed to be here with her, but he had decided that he was going to spend a semester in Durmstrang the same year, his sister was heading to Hogwarts for the first time. Dang, Micky and his unbearable overachieving ways! She swallowed the lump in her throat and stepped out into the hustle and bustle of the Hogwarts Express Platform, just in time to be literally run over by a rather skinny kid with a messy mop of black hair.

"Sorry!" He threw over his shoulder as he chased another kid, much younger than him, with bright ginger hair in circles around a man in his early thirties, who could only be the kid's father. He had the same messy, coal hair and the same bright smile, but the biggest difference was the eyes. The boy had what appeared to be hazel ones, from where Stasi stood, and the man seemed to have shocking emerald green ones.

"James!" The woman beside the emerald eyed man scolded the black haired boy. "Leave your cousin Hugo alone!"

Instead of listening to her, the two boys dashed off and before she realized it, they were flying towards Stasi again. And this time, she really did get knocked down. Scowling darkly, she turned to James, who was now shaking himself, as he got off the ground, clearly dazed.

"I cannot believe you had to nerve to crash into me, not once but twice!" Stasi screeched, raking a hand through her uncooperative blond curls, which had come out of her hair tie when he had knocked her over. They now fell all over her face, obscuring her vision and annoying her too.

"Hey look, Lady, I really am sorry," He started to apologize, looking rather scared.

For a second Stasi felt guilty about yelling at him for a heartbeat. But that remorse only lasted for a heartbeat as soon as she realized that creepy little James was using picking up her things, as an excuse, to try and peek down her shirt. She responded by smacking him in the back of the head, hard. She got to her feet and got her wand out. She pointed to her things and tried to mimic the swish and flick her mother had demonstrated to her so many times.

"Winguardiam Leviosa!" She exclaimed.

Stasi made no effort to hide the glee in her eyes, as her belongings started to quiver and float around the two of them. James was gawking as well, that was an extra bonus, but at that moment without knowing a single fact about him, she had no idea as to why she was so happy. Stasi then pointed in the general direction of her things and then at her trunk.

"Accio!" She ordered. All of her belongings flew into her trunk and sorted themselves neatly before the trunk snapped shut.

By now James's parents had wondered over to them, most likely to see what kind of trouble he had gotten into now and a look of knowing and amusement filled their faces when they noticed an obviously steamed Stasi with her wand drawn and her lips bared.

"Who's your new friend James?" His father chuckled.

Stasi opened her mouth to answer when she heard someone screaming her name behind her.

"Anastasia Isadora Vanderhoff!" Her mother shouted, running up to her, as Stasi whirled around. "Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?"

Karmelia Anastasia Vanderhoff, ne Dimovoi, knelt down to her daughter's height and immediately began to pinch her cheeks.

"When I told you to wait for us on the other side of the portal, we did not mean that you should wander half way across the platform and get yourself in trouble!" She reprimanded curtly.

"Mom," Stasi whined, pulling away from her mother and rubbing her cheeks. "Please do not use my full name in public and just so you know I was not the one going around chasing little kids into random strangers. He was."

Stasi pointed in James's direction, smiling smugly. Her mother's eyes travelled past the sheepish looking boy, and right up to his father's eyes. Her mother's face broke into a huge grin. She got to her feet and gave the man a huge hug, he and his wife both chuckled as she started to squeal.

"Tar and Feathers! It has been so long since we last talked face to face, Harry Potter!" Her mother exclaimed. "And you too, Ginny. It is good to see that the two of you are doing well."

Stasi's mouth popped open. So this was the famous Harry Potter, the savior of the wizard world and one of her mother's closest friends from school? That meant the rude little club nugget who had tackled her, had to be his oldest son, James Sirius Potter. Stasi's scowl deepened. She hoped that he would not be expecting a long winded apology out of her just because of who his daddy was.

"Wow, Kaya, you haven't aged a day." Harry remarked, as Kaya gave Ginny a quick hug as well.

Stasi agreed, she had seen photos of their Hogwarts days, and she had to admit, her mother Kaya was just as beautiful as ever. She was tall, at about 5'6,with a slender, lightly muscled built. During her days on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, she was a beater and the surprising thing was even almost twenty years later, there still wasn't a single trace of fat on her body. She had flawless, creamy almost paper white skin, an elegant angular face, high cheek-bones, big pale blue eyes, and full red lips that were a perfect double curve. But the most envious thing about her mother, Stasi had to admit was her hair. Kaya's hair was a pale golden blond, the color of honey in milk, it was straight and extended all the way down to her slim waist. Unlike Stasi's unruly curls, Kaya's hair was so soft and silky smooth that she could not knot it even if she tried.

"You know that's not true." Kaya smiled unabashedly. "But I am glad I still manage to turn heads."

Even at the age of thirty-five, Stasi knew that her mother turned _all _heads in her direction, no matter where she went. She let out a hiss of pain when she felt her mother's cool fingers run through her hair in an attempt to tame the curls and yank it into a pony tail.

"You have your grandmother's hair." Kaya informed Stasi. "And her crabby personality."

The Potters chuckled, at their antics and James smirked at her.

"Goldilocks here also has the politeness of a bear." He retorted.

Stasi stuck her tongue out at him.

"Kaya?" A man around her mother's age with the same bright orange here as Hugo asked coming up to them.

He was accompanied by a woman with bushy brown hair, his wife and a daughter older than Hugo, but slightly younger than Stasi and James.

Kaya returned his smile. "It is nice to see you again too Ron. You would have seen more of me if you took the time to visit your wife at work."

Stasi concluded that the bushy brunette was Hermione Granger, her mother's close friend from the Ministry of Magic. They had recently switched posts; her mother was now the head of The Regulation Of Magical Creatures, while Granger was now the head of Magical Law Enforcement.

A loud honk alerted the adults to the fact that the Hogwarts's Express was departing soon.

"You had better go," Kaya gave Stasi an affectionate pat on her head. "Say high to your Uncle for me."

James gave his dad a hug and his mom a kiss as he ran towards the train; his things were probably no doubt on board.

"You coming, Goldilocks?" He gave a Stasi a playful smirk.

"Don't hold your breath, Toothpick." Stasi murmured.

And that was how the wheels were set in motion. Stasi had no idea about what was yet to come or how to face the challenges in her future as a witch. But what she did know for sure was that things were going to be interesting with the Potter-Weasley brood around, that was for sure.


	2. I don't think that passenger seat

**Chapter 1**

_**I don't think that passenger seat, has ever looked this good to me…**_

To say that Stasi was mad was going to be understating things. She was furious! She had no idea why or how her cousin, Saya had the guts to borrow her brand new broomstick and take it out for a spin, but she was not happy in the slightest that she had. Saya- being the rather scattered Hufflepuff she was, not that the rest of her house was the slightest bit out of it or anything, it was just Saya, -had gotten her broom lodged on the windowsill of one of the Gryffindor Dormitories. And now it refused to come down, no matter which spells Stasi tried.

What really irked Stasi, other than her cousin's reckless behavior, of course, was the fact that she had managed to get down from that infuriating window sill just fine, and without a scratch. Of course her initial reaction when Saya had informed her of her broom's unfortunate little accident was;

"And why did you not bring the broom to the ground with you, you crazy little mugger?"

Now, Stasi thought miserably, she was not only going to be late from the Quidditch tryouts, but she was going to be performing at far from her best because she would be forced to use one of the loaner brooms. Life just sucked sometimes, when you went to school with family.

"Accio, Broom!" Stasi screamed for the fifth time. Her throat was really starting to hurt.

"Wing Guardium Leviosa!" The broom jiggled a little in its place but then stood still once more.

Stasi was truly fed up now and steaming.

"Bombarde!" She screeched furiously.

The window of the Gryffindor Dormitory shattered and the noise of glass breaking was followed by hoarse shouts and pretty colorful swearing. Stasi gulped, scared. She had broken one of the Gryffindor Boy's Dormitories. She wished from the bottom of her heart that it was not _his _room, that _he_ was not the one who was shouting. But it seemed as if her luck at her second year at Hogwarts was just as bad as her first for just then James Potter II stuck his head out of the window she had broken.

"Oi, Goldilocks!" He called loudly. "If you had wanted to see me, you could've just stopped by the Common Room, ya know. There was no need to break school property."

Stasi was about to inform him that she had no interest what so ever in seeing him and that she would appreciate it if he could just toss her broom down for her, but he interrupted her before she could get a single word in, much less a sentence.

"Be right down, Goldie." He called. "Reparo." The window put itself back together and James vanished from sight.

Stasi swore, under her breath and tapped her foot impatiently as she waited the school's biggest troublemaker to come to her rescue. It was not that she needed help or anything but since he was making the trip anyways, she had officially decided that James Sirius Potter was going to fetch her broomstick or at least let her borrow his.

About five minutes later, James rushed out the doors and hurried to where she was, sporting his broomstick over his shoulder. He followed Stasi's scowling gaze to where she was staring, took one look at her broom, and burst out laughing. Stasi felt her ears heat up and she pouted.

"That was so not my fault." She informed him haughtily. "Saya is the only one in my family who cannot fly properly."

"So you blew us up, trying to get your broom down?" James demanded incredously. "Did you really not think about what would have happened if you blew all of the roommates in the process?"

Stasi pursued her lips and pretended to think for a moment. "No, not really. You are Gryffindor's, aren't you supposed to be brave and reckless?"

James rolled his eyes with exaggerated annoyance, but his eyes were still gleaming with mirth.

"Now that we have established how your broom got up there, care to enlighten me on how we're getting it down?" He asked smiling devilishly.

"There is no _we_ involved. You are going to give me your broom and _I'm_ going to fly up and fetch it." Stasi replied curtly.

James did not seem too happy with that prospect. "This is my broom, Vanderhoff. Either I go up and get it or we both go up and get it. There is no way I am going to let a possible rival Quidditch player break my brand new broom."

Stasi threw her hand up in frustration. "You are so immature Potter. Pray tell how you are planning to levitate a whole broom carefully down to the ground from that height when you are still unable to levitate a feather a few inches off your desk without blowing it up?"

James shrugged, nonchalantly, mounting his broom. "Come with me, there's plenty of room for the two of us."

Stasi eyed him warily. It was no secret that Potter was a skirt chaser, or the fact that she clearly loathed him. But the odds were not in her favor, for if she did not fetch her broom soon there would be absolutely no hope of making it to the tryouts on time. So against her better judgment, she mounted Potter's Nimbus 3000 side-saddle and they were off.

Potter hovered over the ground for a few seconds and then kicked off. He was a good flier, Stasi thought to herself as they floated up to his dorms window. And that was not the only thing she was thinking off. Stasi couldn't help but notice that Potter did not smell that bad, for a boy that was. He was not wearing an excessive amount of cologne and did not reek of sweat either. She would not go as far as to say that he smelt nice, but the faint scent of oranges that clung to his robes was intriguing indeed. And then there was the fact that since he was sitting so close she could almost feel the warmth of his breath on her neck and hear the sound of his heartbeat behind her. Normally, Stasi did not like riding side saddle, horses were bad enough, but brooms were by far the worst. But somehow, for some reason, as she rode with Potter, she rather _enjoyed_ the ride.

Of course after ward, Stasi berated herself for having these thoughts about Potter. At the age of twelve, being so close to a boy would have disgusted her or at least if she was immature enough, make her think that she had gotten cooties from him or something. That broom ride should not have been a pleasant experience, but for some reason - perhaps it was the fact that Potter had not tried to cope a feel or the fact that he was kind enough to help her even though he knew that once she made Beater, she would be aiming for him- it just _was._


	3. He tells me about his night and I

**Chapter 2**

_**He tells me about his night, and I count the colors in his eyes. . .**_

Stasi's brain hurt. It was her second day at Hogwarts as a third year student and she already had enough of _everything_. It all started with the tremendous argument Rose and Scorpious had gotten into, during breakfast. Stasi could not remember what it was about, but she knew for sure that it had caused enough of a ruckus to stir up the dead. As much as she found the company of the Potter-Weasley clan not _too_ unbearable, they were starting to get on her nerves, now that there were more of them.

When she had first arrived two years ago, the Weasley's already attending Hogwarts had been much older than her and James and after bugging them for a little while, they mostly seemed to vanish and leave them alone to their own devices. Every once in a while she would glimpse a flash of ginger hair, Dominique, or before she graduated, Victorie's blond hair, and she was fine with that. But then Rose, Scorpious and Albus had finally joined them; Stasi realized that things had become way too stuffy. And since Hugo and Lily would be joining them next years, things were due to further downhill in terms of peace and quiet.

"Arrgh!" A very angry, very female voice screeched, as the owner, plopped herself down beside Stasi.

She prayed that it was not one of her Slytherin housemates who had once again come to her to complain about James, his brother or their surprising new best friend Malfoy. It had comes as the greatest shock in the world when Albus Severus Potter had landed in Slytherin. Stasi sniggered to herself; if her parents thought that her predicament was jaw dropping they had so not seen the fact that Albus and Malfoy would become so close, coming, at _all_. As she turned around, Stasi was relieved to see that it was one of her closest friends Calisto 'Cal' who had interrupted her train of thought.

"What is it this time, Cal?" Stasi asked the Gryffindor as patiently as possible.

She really did enjoy Cal's company; after all they had been friends since they were in diapers, especially since both of their mothers had been attached at the hip since from about the same age. When they were still Kaya Dimovoi and Amanda Spinnet, their mothers had attended Hogwarts together and they had both been on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team along with the third member of their trio, Cho Chang. Eventually the three of them had all fallen in love at one point or another, with a fellow male member in the team and had married shortly after the Second Wizarding War. Even as adults, the fact that their friendship was still as strong as ever was evident in how close their children were.

Stasi, Calisto Alicia Corbet, and Eurydice 'Dia' Devon Hunter were inseparable. When the three had come to Hogwarts, they had expected to have been sorted in Ravenclaw, just like their mothers. Instead, Stasi had ended up in Slytherin, Cal in Gryffindor, just like her late aunt Alicia and Dia was sorted into Hufflepuff, like her mother's first love, Cedric Diggory. Perhaps it was cruel twist of fate or maybe simply irony that neither of them were Ravenclaw. But whatever forces out there had tried to separate the Trio, had obviously failed. All three girls had agreed from day one that they would take turns sitting at the other's tables. Now, Stasi had regretted extending the invitation to her friends to sit with her at the Slytherin table, quite a bit because of the chatty Gryffindor.

"So, I was out flying this evening before dinner right?" Cal began. "And all of a sudden that annoying Scottish nutcracker, yes I am talking about Evan _Wood_, the son of the crazy Quidditch obsessed former Gryffindor Keeper, comes up to me and demands that I leave the pitch because it is past flying hours and her doesn't want me to get our team in trouble, _again_!"

Stasi rolled her eyes, at Cal's whining. "Look I know that you were mad, but taking that swing at Susanna Goyle with Finnegan's Bat was not the smartest thing to do."

"You know _what_ she called me!" Cal exclaimed appalled. "She was begging for me to rearrange that doormat she calls a face."

Stasi raised a calm eyebrow at her seething friend. As per usual, Cal was totally overreacting.

"She was egging you on, meat head." Stasi informed. "And you fell for it."

With an angry huff Cal picked herself up and stormed off. Stasi knew that by tomorrow morning she would be her annoyingly sunny self once more. As she prepared to get off and get out, Rose approached her with a look that said, 'If I don't let my frustration, out, I am going to his someone.' Stasi hissed impatiently and sat back down, ready to listen to the Weasley.

"Do you think that Scorp will be missed too much by his family, if I kill him discreetly and bury his corpse somewhere in the school?" Rose asked far too seriously for Stasi's liking.

Stasi narrowed her eyes, as she listened to Rose rant. During the last year, she and the Malfoy kid had become quite good friends. Even though she had more than her fair share of cousins and siblings at the school, like Rose, he was almost like a brother to her. One that she did not particularly _mind_ having around, that was.

"Look Rosie," she sighed. "Whatever he did today, he will probably do something worse tomorrow. So I think it's best if you just let it slide."

Rose gave Stasi a look that clearly said that she believed Stasi had lost all of her marbles.

"You want me to let it slide?" Rose demanded incredously.

"I want you to stop making my migraine worse," Stasi instructed, shooing the annoying redhead away.

Rose, too stomped off, muttering something about 'Slytherin Cultists watching each other's backs', under her breath. Stasi massaged her temples delicately and took a long sip of her pumpkin juice, willing the pain to subside. She had a D.A.D.A essay to get started on thanks to her dearest Uncle Paul, her mother's older brother, and it was due in less than a week. She had made up her mind to leave the Great Hall for good, when _he_ arrived. His hair was messier than ever, his glasses were askew and he wore a look of clear unveiled loathing on his face. Instinctively, Kaya shivered inwardly, glad that his hatred was not aimed in her direction at the moment. It was then that she made the decision to stay for a little longer and offer some more _un_friendly advice.

"Someone run over your cat Potter?" Stasi questioned bemused.

James sat down across from her, removed his glasses and dropped his face in his hands. At that moment Stasi felt rather worried for the boy. Usually his retort to her cat comment, was 'I wish they had', but that night he just seemed content to sit across from her and fume.

"I though my day was going bad, until the evening rolled in, of course," He informed her, icily.

He raised his head to meet her electric blue eyes with his dark, chocolate orbs. It was then that she realized; they were muddled with not only anger but tiredness as well. That was a very rare occurrence for James indeed. He was rarely tired this early on and even if he was, he never showed anything but hyper activeness in front of his friends.

Stasi decided that she did not like it, when his eyes were this color, very much. They were far too clouded when his mood was down, for her liking. When he was happy, Stasi pondered, his eyes were light enough to be almost caramel. When he was feeling particularly mischievous, or he was about to pull a prank, their color was that of her favorite muggle chocolate, Hershey. And when he dragged himself to breakfast every morning, still sleepy and cranky, his eyes were a rather dark shade of hazel. In fact, under the pale rays of the morning sun, they almost seemed to be the color of beaten gold.

"Have you been listening to a single word I have said to far, Goldie?" James demanded clapping his hands in front of her face.

Stasi snapped her head up and scowled at the prat who had interrupted her daydream. She was still deciding what _she_ was more infuriated about, the fact that she had been disturbed for the second time around, while she was mulling or the fact that she had been gazing dreamily into James Potter's eyes of all people's.

"Look, you are the third nutter to bring their problems to me," Stasi growled. "And I do not like it one bit. The lot of you should be able to tell when a girl is feeling downright awful and make the proper decision to give her the day off from all of you guy's nonsense!"

James stood up and glared at her. "You think you are the only one with problems, Vanderhoff?" He challenged. "You are far from the truth."

"No, I don't think that I am the solitary crybaby with more issues than I can handle, Toothpick." Stasi yelled hoarsely. "_I_ seem to the lone mature one who doesn't go around dumping the on my friends whenever the slightest of things bother me!"

James's cocky glower faltered a bit. But then it was back to its full 'I am _so_ right and you are _so_ wrong', glory.

"You do realize that you are only distancing yourself from your friends by not sharing your troubles with them, right?" He shot back.

For a moment, Stasi was taken aback. It was not because he had made such a good comeback, but because he actually seemed to be making sense! 'When had Potter become so mature anyways?' She thought, despite herself. It took Stasi a heartbeat more to compose herself, before she leapt to her feet and met his oh so breathtaking eyes, head on.

"Well _excuse_ me for not opening up and wanting to get _close_ to _you_!" She hollered.

With that she whirled around with a dramatic flare and a toss of her ponytail; that would have made her mother very proud, she strutted off out the Hall, and in the direction of the Slytherin Dungeons. Thanks to Potter, her migraine was now far worse and her cheeks were burning as well. Stasi was secretly hoping that on her way she would run into a couple of unfortunate Gryffindors or Hufflepuffs so she could take out her anger.


	4. To never fall in love he swears as he

_**He'll never fall in love he swears as he runs his fingers through his hair…**_

Valentines Day was never a holiday that Stasi ever liked in the first place. She had no idea as to why the Wizarding World thought it was necessary for them to celebrate such a ridiculous muggle holiday that forced hormonal teenagers to waste money and buy the object of their affection something really sweet and bad for them. But then again her rotten attitude towards the holiday was also probably due to the fact that she was a Slytherin and during second year Scorpious had sworn that there was some sort a sacred rule book the School Library that claimed all Slytherins had to dislike anything and everything that had to do with love.

Wen Stasi had found out that there really was no such book, instead of becoming mad and trying to prank Scorpious back like he had expected- after all he had sworn of scout's honor like Albus and his red head cousins had made him- she laughed so hard that the chocolate milk she was drinking came flying out of her nose. That was when the Potter-Weasley bunch had decided that she along with the Malfoy kid was cool enough to hang out with them.

So even though what Malfoy had informed her about a year back had been a total lie, her opinion on Valentines Day still remained the same; love was not something a rational and reasonable ever spent time on. Her mother had always told her that until a woman was more than ready to make a commitment she should always kiss, never love. Of course Stasi's initial reaction was shock. Was her mother the prim and proper Ravenclaw actually suggesting that she be a loose woman, to her teenage daughter? Instead of being offended, Kaya had proceeded to laugh her head off.

"Little Stasi," she chortled in between fits of laughter, "I am not suggesting that you go through boys like ice cream flavors. I merely want you to keep in mind that at thirteen, you do not know what you want out of life yet. So don't toss everything out the window just because you think you have found 'The One'."

"So you want me deny my feelings even if my gut tells me they are true?" Stasi had challenged.

Kaya had shaken her head in a patronizing way, almost. "This is your chance to make mistakes, Anastasia. But that doesn't mean that you should make it a point to keep on falling in and out of love until you get it right. Your heart is a very precious thing, girlie. I do not want you experience you first devastating heartbreak at thirteen and run off to become a nun because you have convinced yourself that you never want to go through that pain again."

"Look, I get that fact that you Ravenclaws are really big on the whole proverb thing and everything, but can you just give it to me straight?" At that point Stasi had finally come out and said it.

"Look before you leap." Her mother had sighed, smiling faintly. "I'd hate for some unfortunate boy's parents to come pick him up on the most romantic holiday of the year from Hogwarts in a matchbox."

So perhaps it wasn't simply the Slytherin state of mind that repelled Stasi from the red and pink hearts and not to mention the unbelievable amounts of sugar in the food. Perhaps it had something to do with her mother's little pep talk as well. But what Stasi had to admit really tipped the iceberg had to be the _tension_ in the air. Everyone, from the smallest first year to the biggest and boldest of the prefects look worse for wear. The amount of gossip and whispering in the Great Hall during meal time, increased significantly as the giggling girls tried to guess who their secret admirer was, and the whispering the library was undeniably loud as well, for certain desperate individuals were working in vain in an attempt to brew love potions.

Stasi hated it. There was enough drama going on through the school on a regular basis as it was. Valentines Day only made things worse. If a bunch of strangers she didn't know was bad enough, then her friends definitely took the cake. They could not stop blathering about the cute seniors they had a crush on, the adorable yet awkward boys in their year chasing the fourth or fifth years they wanted to take on a date to Hogsmede and of course they talked about who they were going to corner in a dark hallway. It was nauseating if anything to Stasi. And when they to get her to contribute, she would shoot them the infamous 'Dimovoi' glare her mother had taught her and slink off to sulk in the dungeons some where.

At first this was a rather tiresome and boring routine, but then sometime near the end of lunch, when Stasi had managed to give Cal and her grumblings about Wood, the slip, she stumbled on to something rather blackmail worthy. Since she had been sneaking around since first year with the help of the Marauder's Map she had tricked James and Albus into letting her and Scorpious borrow, Stasi knew the outline of the dungeons by heart and that came in handy since it was usually dark down there with little or no lighting. Now, one could always use their wands to light the way, but then there wouldn't be any fun in sneaking up on someone unsuspecting and lost in passageways, would there?

As she descended down the final flight of stairs, Stasi heard muffled whispers to her left, near the secret passageway that led to the kitchens. Instinctively, she pulled out her wand, slipped off her shoes and put them aside. Satisfied in the conclusion that her socks muffled the sound of her feet, Stasi pressed her back against the wall and crept forward. As soon as she took a few steps forward she could make out what was being said.

"I am sorry, half-blood," an icy female voice hissed. "But I do not feel the same way about you!"

"But you haven't even given me a chance!" A whiny teenage male voice answered.

"Look, if you do not stop sending me the flowers, not only, am I going to hex you into the next dimension, but I will also issue a restriction order!" The girl screeched.

It was then that I noticed that the girl hollering at the top of her lungs was none other than Cal's new 'arch nemesis' Susanna Goyle. Stasi stowed her wand, it was common enough for her to be lurking around in the dungeons considering the fact that she lived there. But it was her companion who had Stasi's eyes widening and her bursting into giggles. It seemed as if James Sirius Potter was in the middle of a love confession to Goyle and she had shot him down without even listening to him finish! This was extortion gold! Instead of listening to them banter some more and watching it all play out, Stasi decided to interfere the second Goyle pointed her wand at Potter.

"Susanna!" Stasi called jovially, stepping out of the shadows.

James noted with dread that she was wearing her infamous Cheshire Cat Grin, she had seen everything and he would no doubt be hearing about it for years to come.

"The captain wanted to talk to you about last week's incident when you decided to try and transfigure the Hufflepuff Seeker while she was still on her broom." Stasi replied smirking.

Goyle's eyebrows shot to the top of her head. "How the heck did Captain find out about that?" She demanded.

"Maybe from the Head of her house," Stasi rolled her eyes, impatiently. "You really should go before he decides to come to you."

Goyle's eyes widened with fear and as she scampered off, Stasi turned to Potter smiling from ear to ear.

"So why is it Goyle?" She asked, mirth dancing in her electric blue eyes.

James gulped, running a hand through his already messy raven locks. As he was formulating a reasonable answer, he had no idea that Stasi was watching his movements like a hawk.

Stasi narrowed her eyes as she followed Potter's hand as the slim fingers raked through his bird's next of a head of hair. She did not know if it was a nervous twitch of some sort or simply a force of habit, but it certainly was mesmerizing that was for sure. Since he looked more depressed than she had ever seen him, Stasi all of a sudden had to urge to run her fingers through his hair as well, just to see if it felt as soft as it looked. She mentally kicked herself. He was a _Potter_ and a _Gryffindor_. But really why did he of all people had to have such nice hair.

"Susanna is a really pretty girl," James finally blurted out. "And since I am pretty popular amongst the rest of the girls in my year, I thought I had a chance with her."

Stasi gaped openly at him. "She's in her fifth year, Club Nugget! And you are barely pubescent. What made you think one of the vainest and most unrelenting girls in the school would bother to give a second glance in your direction?"

James absentmindedly reached for his hair again, and Stasi mentally noted that this was eighth time in the week alone and it was only Wednesday.

"Yea, yea, yea," he muttered under his breath. "I'll never fall for an older woman again. In fact I think it is about time that I swore of all women for good."

Stasi gave him one long look, and fell on the floor laughing. She didn't care that the dungeon floor was cold, and wet. Her sides were hurting far too much to be bothered by that.

"You're thirteen, Toothpick, you don't know what you want yet." She repeated her mother's advice between peals of chuckles. "There is no reason to go shave your head and become a monk just because some sour puss said you weren't her type. If you're the James Potter I know, you would be on your way to Hogsmede with some seventh year on your arm just to show Goyle what she is missing."

Potter gave her a long, lingering look and it was then that Stasi realized she had actually given him some useful advice and not her usual speech about Gryffindors being morons and him having it coming.

"Thanks for being there," he finally murmured, looking down at his feet.

Stasi prayed that she did not imagine the blush forming on his cheeks as she got to her feet. James skirted around her and he almost seemed to skipping up the stairs. Stasi blamed the 'Spirit of Valentines Day' for manipulating her into being nice to someone she was supposed to loathe. But she couldn't help but smile under her breath at the fact that even though the holiday of love was not her cup of tea, the awkward Potter boy she was convinced she was developing a crush on, was happy. Stasi made a vow to herself; next Valentines Day, she would murder Cupid.


	5. I'm Laughing Cuz I Hope He's Wrong

**Chapter 4**

_**I'm**____**laughing**____**'cause**____**I**____**hope**____**he's**____**wrong**_

Stasi chewed on the back of her quill anxiously. It seemed as if potions class was dragging on forever. Even though, perhaps it was because she was a Slytherin or merely the fact that during the short period she was in Muggle School, she enjoyed chemistry, Stasi did enjoy Potions. The teacher was not half bad either; Romilda Vane could be an excellent Potions Mistress when she was required to be, other times, she was simply an annoying fan girl. Like at that very moment she was gushing about her years with Harry Potter.

This of course, had been brought on by another of James's careless screw ups. But then again maybe it was nostalgia that triggered her outburst of memories. In Hogwarts, old habits did seem to die hard based on what Stasi had seen so far. As much as she enjoyed hearing about the 'Olden Days' when her parents had attended school with the 'Chosen One' and about how they worked together to defeat the Dark Lord, Stasi at that moment wanted nothing more than for the lesson to be over!

The semi final Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin was that afternoon and she wanted the stupid clock to chime so that she could get to pitch and fly around for a few minutes to clear her head. Someone upstairs must have heard her silent pleas because at that very moment the clock started to chime twelve times to signal the start of lunch. In less than thirty seconds, Stasi had gathered all of her quills and parchment, shoved her books into her bag and then she was flying towards the door, literally. She hurried up the stairs that led out of the dungeons and then headed right for the pitch. She had eaten a large breakfast that morning so she knew that she could afford to skip lunch. She so did not want to be vomiting during the game due to her frazzled nerves.

Racing across the wide expanse of grass she made her way to her team's change rooms. By the time she had finished putting most of her gear on, and was trying to strap on her boots, Al and Scorp burst through the doors, laughing loudly. Stasi suspiciously narrowed her eyes. Who did she have to save them from this time because they blew off their eyebrows?

"Hey Stasi," Scorp began, trying his best to not fall over giggling. "What did put James up to? He won't leave Wood, alone! He totally tried to profess his feelings in front of the whole school during lunch in the Great Hall. It was beyond priceless."

"What business does Toothpick have with Evan?" Stasi gaped.

The two boys shared a long look and fell to the floor clutching their sides, there were tears coming out of their eyes now.

"None that we know of," Al muttered. "But then again he's not probably thinking straight after Goyle rejected him so for all we know..."

All of a sudden, there was a loud knocking on their Change Room door.

"Vanderhoff! I know you have something to with that Potter Boy bugging my sister!" A loud, Scottish voice, hollered from the other side. "You come out here right now!"

Scorp's smile immediately faded along with Al's.

"Shall we go deal with him?" He demanded.

Stasi rolled her eyes, but smiled affectionately none the less. Evan was two years older than the boys and twice their size. She would deal with him, and send him back crying to his mother.

She stepped outside, fastening her gloves. "Can I help you?"

"Yes," he ground out. "I would like know why Potter has taken up stalking my sister!"

"Not my fault," Stasi shrugged nonchalantly. She eyed Evan as he ranted.

He was very easy on the eyes, in fact almost all of the girls at Hogwarts and maybe even some of the guys would admit he was rather good looking. He was at least a head taller than her, maybe even more so and he had his father's burly frame. He was broad in the shoulders with muscular forearms and thick calves. His face even though it greatly resembled his father's, was more refined and chiseled, like his mother's. He had dark chocolate brown hair, with pale, natural auburn streaks. He had his father's glare but his mother's foam green eyes. Yes, Stasi could almost see the reason as to why Cal might be developing a but of a crush on him, _almost._As much as she did not like to admit it, Stasi preferred James's pout to Evan glare.

"Oh yea?" He challenged. "I don't think you are as innocent as you claim to be. In fact I specifically think that you set our Seeker on our Captain so that you would win this match!"

Stasi's jaw dropped to the floor. Is that what Quidditch Nazi Junior thought she was up to? Did he truly believe that she would manipulate her best friend into harassing her brother's girlfriend, Myra Wood, so that Slytherin would have a better shot at winning the match? Well then, Gryffindor was far more discriminatory against them than she gave them credit for. She pulled her lips back in a sneer.

"If that is what you think Slytherin needs to win this match, then you are beyond delusional, Pretty Boy. Instead of picking on me, if I were you, I would try to find out the truth as to what was going on. I know for a fact that I am not the only one James considers a 'Best Friend'." Stasi retorted icily.

She would so get back at him during the game. In fact she planned on doing a number on all three of them; Wood, Wood and Potter. And it is not because she was jealous of the fact that Potter had a thing for an older woman. Was it?

Stasi loved the feeling of flying above all else. There was no better feeling than that of the wind streaming through her eyes and the sun on her face. But the best part had to be the weightlessness. Flying gave her a sense of freedom that compared to no other in the world. And of course she loved to play the position of Beater. She got to take cheap shots at whoever she felt like that day, as per usual Toothpick was on top of her list. It wasn't until and hour or so had passed that Al gave her the signal to go all out.

As soon as James had spotted the snitch, Al gave her a mock salute and the plan was set in motion. Scorp was up first. Lila Paucey passed him the Quaffle, and he purposely kept a loose grip on it. And the reason was that because they were hoping one of the Gryffindor chasers would succeed in stealing it from him. Myra fell for the trap hook line and sinker. And that was where the other Slythrerin Beater, Blaine Zabini came in. He whacked one of the bludgers in Myra's direction, at a very bad angle making it extremely easy for Finnegan, who was one of the Gryffindor Beaters, to come up beside her and whack it away. Phase two was complete.

And Phase three was already in motion, for Susanna was already charging Myra maniacally to make it seem as if she was trying to steal back the Quaffle from her. But in reality, Goyle had planned on flying past her all along and that was so she could deliver a quick, brutal kick to Myra's broom, causing her to knock into Finnegan. This led said Gryffindor Beater to miss the bludger that was now heading in his direction, and allowing Stasi who was hovering behind him to gain control of it. She caught Cal's eye as she smacked the Bludger in James's direction.

"James look out!" Cal yelled.

Instinctively James leaned up and right in and attempt to avoid the heavy led ball heading in his direction. That was his greatest mistake since they had set up this grand scheme so that Stasi could be the bait. James's maneuver had left his stomach exposed, just like Stasi had guessed, and that was the clear shot Zabini needed to aim his bludger at James. As the ball crashed into his abdomen, he let out a yelp of surprise and fell off his broom. In less than a heartbeat, he and his Nimbus 3000 were plummeting towards the Earth.

Out of the corner of her eye, Stasi snuck a glance at Albus. The second his fingers closed around the Snitch, she tucked into a steep dive. Scorp followed her example. And the two of them went after each of the falling objects; Potter and his broomstick, respectively. Scorp who was the skilled Chaser stood a far better chance at catching the reclusive broom than she did, Stasi couldn't help but admit to herself. That meant she had to deal with Potter. She could not decide whether or not she was regretting having him in her arms. But her musings had to be cut short, for she was rapidly approaching the panicking raven haired boy. She grasped him hastily by his elbow and hauled him onto her broom. James let out a sigh of relief.

"You know I could have died?" He demanded. "Why do I get the feeling that you were hoping that would have happened?"

Stasi cumbersomely brushed of his accusations. "Pray tell as to why you have turned your desperation for a woman onto Myra?"

"Because you told me to…" he grumbled under his breath.

"When have I ever encouraged this sort of foolishness?" Stasi gaped, appalled.

Then it hit her like a brick causing her to grab the top of her broom and jerk them to a halt in mid air. _Of__course_ she had encouraged him to go after Myra, indirectly but it had still been a suggestion none the less. Her thoughts travelled back to one week ago, when on Valentine's Day, she had convinced Toothpick that he needed to show Goyle up with an older woman to get back at her for rejecting him. And the seventh year he had chosen was Myra. Stasi couldn't help but chuckle. And soon she was all out laughing. For without realizing it, she had done just what Evan had accused her off, sabotaging the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"I was by no means suggesting that you get close enough to your Quidditch Captain to make my brother seriously consider letting you live after what you did to his eyebrows last week." Stasi rolled her eyes.

"I am not afraid of Mikhail." Potter replied, sneering. "Anyways are you telling that I did the wrong thing by getting over Suse? It was your suggestion after all."

Stasi bristled; she did not like it when he gave other girls nicknames. It meant that somewhere along the road, their relationship had developed to a stage where nicknames were acceptable. She was the only one he was supposed to call by something other than 'Stasi' or 'Anastasia'. No one else had that kind of a connection with him did they? Stasi gulped. Being so close to him was affecting her reason! She was starting to consider where she stood with him! When had she wanted to mean more to him than any other person in her life to date?

"Right decision, not the right girl." Stasi replied, starting to ease the broom down towards the ground once more.

"Then who are _you_ approving of?" He asked grimly.

'No,' she wanted to tell him. 'No one but me.' But instead she chose not to ignore his request and blankly stare off in the distance; sporting the infamous 'Dimovoi Disinterest' she had been taught by her mother. He took this as an incentive to follow her gaze, which landed on a very angry Cal who was fighting with Evan. Stasi's jaw dropped.

"Don't even think about it," she hissed, leaning down to whisper her threat into his ear.

That was a grave mistake, for she was close enough to pick up irresistible scent of oranges that clung to him, despite the fact that he was covered with sweat and grime.

"Not to worry," James replied quickly, trying to placate her. "Evan might throw me off the team next year if I try something funny."

His breath tickled her cheek and Stasi responded by tipping him off her broom and onto the ground. Thankfully they were less than two feet in the air, so the only thing Potter had bruised was his ego. Or so Stasi had hoped. She was becoming far too fond of that boy than was healthy.


	6. And I don't think it ever crossed his

**Chapter 5**

_**And I don't think it ever crossed his mind. . .**_

Fore some reason, King's Cross Station seemed far more bigger to her than before. This was her fourth time departing from the Station to head off, yet somehow instead of the whole scene being familiar and tiresome it was unnerving to Stasi, to say the least. The crowds appeared to be rowdier, the first years far more clingy and the air was filled with too much anxiety. Dread crawled up her spine as she realized why she felt like a total stranger at the Station.

She was a year older than she had been the last time she had stood at the very spot, shoulder to shoulder with her family ready to depart, but she had never felt so lonely the last three times. And it was because Mikhail had been there with her; to give her shoulder a comforting squeeze whenever he noticed that Stasi had broken into a cold sweat, to make teasing remarks about the ridiculous amount of junk she packed into her truck each year, yet still help her haul her stuff onto the train, and of course he was always there to watch her back and shoulder the burden of looking after their younger cousins with her. Even though they were four years apart in age, Stasi and her older brother were still very close to each other. And now that he was gone, Stasi was _scared_. He handled everything so flawlessly, whether it was managing the little hooligans they called family, or being Head Boy and maintaining peace and Equity among the Four Houses. All that would be Stasi's job now.

"The nerves are getting to you aren't they?" A raspy voice chuckled from behind her, giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze.

She would recognize his voice anywhere, it was the same one that used to read bedtime stories to her as a little child and laugh with her every time her mother messed up her attempts at making them a proper meal.

"Really father, I'd think that after having this conversation every year, you'd be tired of it by now." Stasi replied wryly, turning around and giving Elliot Vanderhoff a dry smile.

He grinned widely. "You are my little girl, it is my job to ask those questions you find ridiculous and embarrassing. They show that I care."

"You know talking about it doesn't make what's ahead of me any less daunting." Stasi admitted. "But I guess it's a good start."

"That's the spirit," Elliot nodded. "Now tell me, what's gotten into you? Moping in the corner on the first day back to Hogwarts is not your style. You are usually far more confident and daring."

"It's just that Miky made thing seem so easy." Stasi sighed heavily. "And I really don't know if I can handle our family as smoothly."

"There is nothing to handle, Anastasia," Elliot shook his head. "You are forgetting what it truly means to be a family, and that is to rely on our loved ones when life gets difficult. The challenges that you will face, you do not have to face them alone. Lani, Saya and everyone else will be there to support you just as you will be there to look after them. And if something goes wrong along the way, you'll find that no mistake is truly that terrible when we're all there to share the blame together."

"Well Papa, it seems as though you pay attention to some of the things mother rants about." Mikhail replied in his lazy drawl as he made his way to his father and sister.

"You know she gives the family lecture every morning to him before they go their separate ways at the Ministry." Zacharias added, coming up to stand beside his older brother.

Side by side, the three Vanderhoff men made an impressive picture. Now that Miky was old enough and tall enough, there was no doubt as to whom he got his dark, devious looks from. He had the same slightly messy and albeit spiky black hair as his father, and the same steady dark brown eyes along with naturally tanned skin and strong jaw line. He had his mother's perky nose, though and her resolve. However there was no doubt as to why mama's little boy was; Zacharias. From his golden blond hair to the pale blue eyes, and the mischievous smile, Zach was Kaya's spitting image. That was fine with Kaya since she was her father's baby girl.

As Stasi made her towards the train, she decided that is was about time she got over her nagging doubts as to whether or not she would be able to manage as year at Hogwarts without Mikhail, after all she still had another brother she could blame for any unfortunate accidents and there were much more important goals for her to focus on.

She had one year to convince the Head of her House that she was Prefect material as well climb her way up the ladder on the Quidditch team. Then there was the little matter of making sure that Saya's little secret remained a secret. That was going to be increasingly hard since for some reason Lani seemed to be out to ruin Saya's life and vice versa. Stasi was caught in the middle and her hands were rather tied since Lelandi (Lani) was the daughter of her father's younger sister and Saya was the daughter of her mother's younger brother.

She had no idea as to why there was such animosity, but Stasi had a feeling that truth was not going to be any easier to digest than the lies they had been feeding her. It looked as if she was going to be much underhanded when it came to her family that she originally thought. It was not that she had any particular reservations about targeting her cousins in their darkest hour as long it did no further damage to them, but she still got an awkward feeling in her stomach.

"That's Ravenclaw in you," Susanna had remarked drily when Stasi had brought it up. "Remorse is one of the thing that separates us from them."

Stasi found that remark mildly amusing. It was as if to her stoic sometimes friend, their Houses were more of a lifestyle than simply a state of mind. That wasn't the entire truth, was it? Stasi could not help but contemplate out loud.

"You know talking to oneself is the first sign of insanity." A pair of calloused and slightly bony fingers wrapped around her own helping her put her trunk on top of her seat.

She felt his chocolaty breath tickle the back of her neck as the faint scent of oranges engulfed her. She felt the giggles rise in her throat as she made every effort to put on a straight face as she shoved him away.

"Jump off a cliff Toothpick." She growled good-naturedly.

He swerved away from her laughing, giving Stasi the chance to take a good long look at him after a long Potter-less summer. He had shot up in height by several inches, but he was still as gangly and uncomfortable in his own skin as ever. He seemed to be filling out though; hi shoulders were broader, his hands larger and his mouth was more defined.

"What's wrong Goldy," Stasi was surprised as to how quickly his expression, went from mocking to concerned.

"Nothing, James." Stasi looked away. It was then that she realized her slip up but the damage was already done.

"Now I know something's wrong, Stas." James collapsed onto one of the seats causing Stasi to inch further away towards the door.

"Where are the rest of your Hooligans, Potter?" Stasi asked sharply. She could feel her voice as well as her temperature rising.

"They are out there doing all of the mushy gushy hugging business they do every year." He leaned back and pretended to stroke an imaginary beard. "Are you sure that there is nothing you'd like to share?"

Stasi shook her head, letting her bangs fall over he cheeks as they turned a rather unflattering shade of pink. She prayed that either the Potter-Weasley bunch or her lot would show up soon or that by some miracle he would decide that he had tortured her enough for the time being and move onto the next compartment before she died of embarrassment.

It was as if someone up there had heard her prayers or something, because just then the door of their compartment flew open, scaring the living daylight out of both Stasi and James. Albus marched in looking like he was about to punch a hole through a wall. He jostled James out of seat rather unceremoniously causing his older brother to fall on the floor of the compartment, face first with his butt in the air. As soon as Stasi saw the Golden Snitches on the rim of his boxers, she burst out laughing.

He gave her an annoyed scowl. "I am starting to think that trying to be nice to you is not the best policy for me."

Stasi gave him the best condescending sneer she could muster before slipping out of the compartment just as Lily and Rose were entering. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it; the tiniest hint of a smile lingering on her pale pink lips. It was then that the realization hit her like a brick. While she thought she had been stuck in that box with that infuriating Potter trying to fight off his questionable motives, she had been exactly the opposite.

For those five minutes however brief they might have been, she was free from all of her troubles. She had been so absorbed with his witless banter, that her family had not crossed her mind, not even once. Oddly enough, while she had been screaming her lungs out, she had been at complete peace. He had an astonishing effect on her nerves, without even trying. If he were to ever discover that little piece of information, Stasi deliberated, she would never hear the end of it. Thankfully he was far too simple a person, so it was something that was unlikely to ever cross his mind.


End file.
